A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744) , the greatest English poet of “Augustan” or Georgian period
As some fond virgin, whom her mother’s care
Drags from the town to wholesome country air,
Just when she learns to roll a melting eye,
And hear a spark, yet think no danger nigh;
From the dear man unwilling she must sever,
Yet takes one kiss before she parts for ever:
Thus from the world fair Zephalinda flew,
Saw others happy, and with sighs withdrew;
Not that their pleasures caused her discontent,
She sigh’d not that they staid, but that she went.
She went to plain-work, and to purling brooks,
Old-fashion’d halls, dull aunts, and croaking rooks:
She went from opera, park, assembly, play,
To morning-walks, and prayers three hours a-day:
To part her time ‘twixt reading and bohea,
To muse, and spill her solitary tea;
Or o’er cold coffee trifle with the spoon,
Count the slow clock, and dine exact at noon;
Divert her eyes with pictures in the fire,
Hum half a tune, tell stories to the ‘squire;
Up to her godly garret after seven,
There starve and pray, for that’s the way to heaven.
Some ‘squire, perhaps, you take delight to rack;
Whose game is whist, whose treat, a toast in sack;
Who visits with a gun, presents you birds,
Then gives a smacking buss, and cries–No words!
Or with his hound comes hallooing from the stable,
Makes love with nods, and knees beneath a table;
Whose laughs are hearty, though his jests are coarse,
And loves you best of all things–but his horse.
In some fair evening, on your elbow laid,
You dream of triumphs in the rural shade;
In pensive thought recall the fancied scene,
See coronations rise on every green;
Before you pass the imaginary sights
Of lords, and earls, and dukes, and garter’d knights,
While the spread fan o’ershades your closing eyes;
Then give one flirt, and all the vision flies.
Thus vanish sceptres, coronets, and balls,
And leave you in lone woods, or empty walls!
So when your slave, at some dear idle time,
(Not plagued with headaches, or the want of rhyme)
Stands in the streets, abstracted from the crew,
And while he seems to study, thinks of you;
Just when his fancy paints your sprightly eyes,
Or sees the blush of soft Parthenia rise,
Gay pats my shoulder, and you vanish quite,
Streets, chairs, and coxcombs rush upon my sight;
Vex’d to be still in town, I knit my brow,
Look sour, and hum a tune, as you do now.
A few random poems:
- Robert Burns: Farewell Song To The Banks Of Ayr: “I composed this song as I conveyed my chest so far on my road to Greenock, where I was to embark in a few days for Jamaica. I meant it as my farewell dirge to my native land.”-R. B.
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 39. Old warder of these buried bones poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Moonless darkness stands between poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Николай Некрасов – Я посягну на неприличность
- The Rape of the Lock poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- The (REAL) Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare by Ross D Tyler
- Sonnet 29: When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes by William Shakespeare
- Новелла Матвеева – Закон песен
- Don’t Disappear by Roberto Cocina
- Lines Written As A School Exercise At Hawkshead, Anno Aetatis 14 by William Wordsworth
- Владимир Британишский – Дороги
- Bridal Song by William Shakespeare
- Ольга Берггольц – Простите бедность этих строк
- Parnell by William Butler Yeats
- Resignation poem – Alfred Austin
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- Olney Hymn 50: The Christian by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 5: Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord Send Peace by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 48: Joy And Peace In Believing by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 47: The Hidden Life by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 45: The Happy Change by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 43: Prayer For Patience by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 40: Peace After A Storm by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 4: Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord My Banner by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 39: The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 38: Looking Upwards In A Storm by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 36: Afflictions Sanctified By The Word by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 34: The Waiting Soul by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 33: Seeking The Beloved by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 32: The Shining Light by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 31: On The Death Of A Minister by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 30: The Light And Glory Of The Word by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 3: Jehovah-Rophi: I Am the Lord That Healeth Thee by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 29: Exhortation To Prayer by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 28: Jesus Hasting To Suffer by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 27: Welcome To The Table by William Cowper
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works

Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) was a a post-Restoration English poet and satirist. He is a poet of the (British) Augustan period and one of its greatest artistic exponents.